A Last Goodbye Before the End
by Alex Lacey
Summary: As the last day as students of Hogwarts dawns, Harry, Ron, and Hermione tie together loose strings of their lives. They dive and pitch and blunder, discovering that really, the end marks a new begining. PRETEND HBP DIDN'T HAPPEN : lemons...


**Note: This was written before the sixth book was published, so there is no correlation either with that book or my other story. I hope you enjoy it anyway. **

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Chapter One

HERMIONE

Today was the day.

Hermione rested far below the castle towers, down near the edge of the forest against a tree. Already, the summer's golden fingers had spread throughout her world, stroking her curly hair with a loving grin. The early morning dew even smiled at her, glistening over her feet in the fresh morning glaze.

The morning sun hit the lawn with vigor, nearly matching the brightness Hermione felt in her chest. Today was the day she was going to kiss Severus Snape. Over the grueling years, she had become fond of the man. Despite the outward shell, she had found a tender man underneath. She found this endearing and as the year had gone by, she had also found in herself a great tenderness for him. Knowing she might not ever return to Hogwarts, she wanted to make an impression that had nothing to do with her intelligence.

She and Ron had grown apart, never fully exploring their tenuous relationship far enough, letting it die in their hands, even as they watched it wither. Left with a residue of loneliness, Hermione had taken refuge in solely her friendships, never allowing for spontaneous, erratic passion in her life. If this was purposeful, she did not know, but she did recognize the need inside herself to change.

RON

He woke up with a groan, noticing the damp sheets around his pelvis. Torn between pleasure and disgust, her recalled a particularly sweaty dream involving glistening breasts, rhythmic pumping, and pinning a young woman up against a wall to plunge deep inside her. As always, the face was blurry, or he never remembered it. Either that or it was someone insignificant and just not worth remembering.

A simple charm cleared the mess and Ron lay there in clean, cool sheets. The last day had come. Tomorrow he would be graduating and everyone would be off to their own things, their own new worlds. He would be left at home working some job one of his brothers would cook up for him. Maybe he could even scrounge a job at his brothers' joke shop. It was a faint hope, but there nonetheless.

Ron looked back at the clock and saw that he had ample time to sleep and rolled over on his side to harbor that thought. Try as he did, slumber did not come easily. In fact, thoughts raced through his mind, spinning their wheels and terrifying him half to death. Where was he going? What was he doing? Not literally of course, _but in life?_ Harry knew his direction, had mapped it all out long ago. He had a course and a plan of action. Ron didn't know the details but knew it involved saving the world in some shape or form. Even Hermione knew she was going to go on to become some famous witch who found the cure for death, or something like it. His brothers…well, except for Bill… had all known their path and ran down it with zeal.

There was simply nowhere to go from here. He would no longer be able to flit from dream to dream, changing his destiny daily.

He would be left behind in a cloud of under achievements.

HARRY

The groan in the bed next to him woke Harry with a grin. Poor Ron. He really did need a girlfriend.

At this thought, Harry grimaced. Speaking of girlfriends, his own was in for a nasty surprise today. Ginny… oh, Ginny. She had been his first love, but not his ultimate. He recalled their first kiss underneath the snowy skies. Nearly two years ago, he had leaned in, extremely hesitant, but she had dived in for what she wanted. That was Ginny. Through many practice rounds, they had finally figured out the perfect amount of tilt, give, and push that their mouths needed to maintain passion and avoid bumping noses and teeth. He would never forget that. Sadly, this last month had found their love life waning, those exploring kisses turning into more chaste ones. What was once adventurous had become reminiscent of a good love, but a fading love.

Today he would break up with her.

His heart ached, not for the future without her, but the wonderful memories with her. She would always be dear to him, but with him gone next year, out in the world, it wouldn't be fair to tie her to a ghost of a boyfriend, there only in letters and holidays. No, next year they would have to be free from each other in order to fully enjoy his first year out, and her last year in.

Smiling at the prospects ahead, as well as the tribulations, Harry slipped out of bed and into the daylight.


End file.
